Gros Cap

Gros Cap itself is something to get excited over but a 60-degree day in mid-March!!! What a difference a year makes!! Last year this time we were digging out of our most recent blizzard with over two feet of snow on the ground! This year, the snow is already all but gone! Unbelievable! I consider myself a snow-lover, but I'm over it for this year...BRING ON SPRING!!

Gros Cap is a remarkable place where the Canadian Shield jumps nearly 700 vertical feet out of Lake Superior. The scenery is amazing and what's better is that it's so accessible! Located only a short 20-ish minute drive east of Soo, Canada the last two or three miles of road are a bit rough but not like what you have to drive on to get to places like this elsewhere in the Algoma District!

Today's trail would be along the Gros Cap Loop Trail. I don't have an exact figure but I'm guessing it's about a 3-mile round trip. The eastern half of the loop takes you through a typical Canadian Shield mixed hardwood forest. Views don't exist here but the young woodland is pristine. The western half of the loop is where the real excitement is, save it for last! There are three overlooks but the northernmost provides the most sweeping view. Great on any day, I highly recommend this hike on a nice, 60-degree day in March:):)

Gros Cap, ON (3-15-10)

The trailhead...the road enters private property to the right (rusted sign) while the trail exits to the left...I'd be doing the loop in reverse to save the prettiest part of the trail to last which meant for the first quarter mile or so I'd be following the access road back east...

Gros Cap Loop Trail

After a rather boring but brief quarter mile walk the trail heads south into the woods...

Gros Cap Loop Trail

Yew are here! Haha...sorry, a bit of biological humor, I couldn't help myself. The green plant covering the forest floor here is called Canada Yew...

Gros Cap Loop Trail

A weird spot to put the trail name marker...at least a quarter mile from the road where it starts!

Gros Cap Loop Trail

Still some snow here and there but looking more like mid-April than March!

Gros Cap Loop Trail

A rather creepy-looking little cedar portal...

Gros Cap Loop Trail

As the trail continued south and west it passed a couple small outcrops like this...

Gros Cap Loop Trail

Melt-water empties from a small pond beneath the Firs...

Gros Cap Loop Trail

A special find (at least to me!)...a Striped Maple, can you guess how it got its name;)

Gros Cap Loop Trail

This was a particularly pretty spot as the trail passed through a young grove of Paper Birch...

Gros Cap Loop Trail

Looking up from the birch grove...

Gros Cap Loop Trail

Humans aren't the only ones who over-use their natural resources!! In contrast though, it's likely the tree was already dead when the birds got to it...

Gros Cap Loop Trail

Sometimes you have to dig deep to get the best grubs!

Gros Cap Loop Trail

Some rather ugly foliose lichens cling to a large rock along the trail. A cool science fact: These lichen were at least the size of my palm making them 10 or more centimeters across...according to a chart I have this makes these guys over 50 years old!

Gros Cap Loop Trail

Typical canadian shield backcountry...

Gros Cap Loop Trail

The Voyageur Trail shares part of the loop...as evidenced by this tree the trail has been around for a while...

Gros Cap Loop Trail

Turning towards the cliffs the trail remains amongst a very open, and young, forest of hardwoods...

Gros Cap Loop Trail

Reindeer moss (which isn't a moss, but a lichen!) is a common sight around here, especially out on the open cliffs...

Gros Cap Loop Trail

Blue blazes mean views!!

Overlook #1

The rather uninspiring first overlook...

Gros Cap Loop Trail

The low-point along the crest was collecting all the melt-water from the woods above creating this pretty, seasonal stream...

Overlook #2

Overlook #2...also overgrown...no worries, the best is yet to come!!

Gros Cap Loop Trail

For a ridge-top walk the trail was very, very wet...I wasn't complaining though, I was lucky just to BE here at this time of the year!

Gros Cap Loop Trail

Another pretty stretch of trail along as I neared the final overlook...

Gros Cap Loop Trail

The most important turn-off...

Overlook #3 Spur

The side trail out to the cliff top...

Overlook #3

Welcome to Gros Cap! The Canadian Shield rises some 150-200 meters (500-650 feet) directly out of Lake Superior here...quite an awesome place!

Overlook #3

The ancient rocks of the Canadian Shield overlooking the ageless waters of Lake Superior...

Overlook #3

Looking south towards Michigan...can you spot the two lighthouses in this photo?

Overlook #3

Here's a bit closer shot of the spot where Lake Superior enters the St. Mary's River. Gros Cap Lighthouse (Canadian) sits in the middle of the river while on the far shore sits Michigan's Point Iroquois light...

Overlook #3

The uber-zoomed shot of the lights, Gros Cap and Pt. Iroquois...

Overlook #3

Looking due west over the waters of Gitchee Gumee...

Overlook #3

The overlook didn't get me as close to the cliff edge as I liked so I decided to descend for a closer look...

Overlook #3

Gnarly junipers covered the cliff tops here...the almost constant winds off Lake Superior combined with the lack of topsoil deters growth by all but the most ground-hugging plants...

Overlook #3

Looking over the cliff-top barrens towards Michigan...

Overlook #3

Another look north-west...a descent to that island might be a good hike for another day, yes? ;)

Overlook #3

The sweeping panorama from Gros Cap...sorry the horizon's a bit off kilter, no tripod...grr...

Overlook #3

I just couldn't get enough of this view so I had to include one more shot...

Overlook #3

Ever so reluctantly, I had to make my way back up to the truck...

Gros Cap Loop Trail

Closing the loop...what an amazing place on such an amazing day...can't say I've EVER broken a sweat in a t-shirt in the North Woods IN MARCH!!!